200 The Spiritual Man
know for certain that unless one experiences identification with
Christ in death—not merely having died to sin but having died to the
self life as well—he attempts in vain to keep our Lord’s teachings
enunciated on the Mount. He may appear to be following these
instructions, but his heart is not one with his appearance. Only a
Christian who has yielded his soul life can spontaneously and
unpretentiously give away his cloak when he has been sued for his
coat. He whose self life has been sacrificed to death is cut loose from
the things of the world.
Gaining spiritual life is conditional on suffering loss. We cannot
measure our lives in terms of “gain”; they must be measured in terms
of “loss.” Our real capacity lies not in how much we retain but in
how much has been poured out. Those who can afford to lose the
most are those who have the most to give. The power of love is
attested by love’s sacrifice. If our hearts are not separated from love
of the world, our soul life has yet to go through the cross.
“And you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property”
(Heb. 10.34). The believers referred to in this passage did not simply
endure but even joyfully accepted the plundering of their goods. This
is the work of the cross. The attitude of saints towards their
possessions most assuredly signifies whether they continue to
preserve their self life or whether they have consigned it to death.
If we desire to tread a pure spiritual path we must allow God to so
operate in us that our hearts can be severed from everything
pertaining to the world and be totally released from the intent of
Lot’s wife. This is the prerequisite for experiencing perfect life in
Christ. We can despise all the things in the world only after the Holy
Spirit has shown the reality of heaven and its perfect life. Matters
below and matters above defy comparison. The experience of the
Apostle in Philippians 3 begins with esteeming everything as loss
and proceeds to suffering the loss of all things. Therein does the
Apostle come to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.